Stories That Go Bump in the Night

You probably remember the "Goosebumps" series, which sold more than 300 million copies about a decade ago. Well, a new spine-tingling series is back, featuring strange and terrifying goings-on at a theme park, billed as the "scariest place on earth." This is the ultimate page-turner for middle-school scare-addicts.

For Young Adult Readers:

Generation Dead
By Daniel Waters (Hyperion Books*)

The premise of this book is that American teenagers who die come back to life, but they're not the same. They attend school, but they stutter, move slowly and are pale. They're considered "living impaired" or "differently biotic," and they are shunned by the living ... except for Phoebe, a goth girl who develops a crush on Tommy, who is strong, silent -- and dead. So the slightly creepy setup is set off by lots of humor and attention to themes likes cliques and crushes, which all preteens and teens will relate to.

Suck It Up
By Brian Meehl (Delacorte)

It's a very funny novel about a young vampire, Morning McCobb, a graduate of the I.V. (international vampire) league who is given the responsibility of bringing vampires out of the closet, or the casket, so to speak. He drinks a soy-blood substitute, dreams of a vampire pride parade and epitomizes the geek/outcast/hero to highly comical effect.

Sports Tales

For Younger Kids

Six Innings
By James Preller (MacMillan)

Although this is a book about two Little League teams playing six innings of the biggest game of their lives, it goes beyond fastballs and double plays to the lives of the players in a way that even a nonbaseball-loving 9-year-old girl will love. It's about friendship and family and life, and is reminiscent of Judy Blume novels.

Swindle
By Gordan Korman (Scholastic)

Griffin Bligh sold his most valuable baseball card to a con artist named Swindle. Now Griffin gets a band of misfits to try their best to retrieve the card. Will they recapture what's theirs?

For Young Adults

Saturday Night: A Motor Novel
By Will Weaver (Farrar, Starus and Giroux)

If you have a young car-racing fan in your family, this book is the perfect summer reading choice: It's a face-paced story about a struggling speedway in northern Michigan and features a great cast of characters, all car-obsessed teens. Great for boys and girls.

Football Hero
By Tim Green (HarperCollins)

Tim was once a member of the "GMA" family and is now a full-time young adult novelist. This is the moving triumph-over-tragedy story of a 12-year-old orphan, Ty Lewis, whose chance to play for the football team is thwarted by his tyrannical uncle. He winds up involved in a gambling scheme that has ties to the mob and holds the potential for a very tense outcome.

Oddball Heroes and Heroines

For Very Young Readers

Cool Zone With the Pain and the Great One
By Judy Blume (Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers)

Seven new stories center on spunky siblings Jake (aka the "Pain") and Abigail (aka the "Great One"). From Jake's refusing to get a haircut (afraid his ears might get cut off) to Abigail learning to overcome her fears by riding a bicycle, this comical book will have you and your child in stitches.

For Young Readers:

The Calder Game
By Blue Balliett (Scholastic)

When Calder Pillay traveled to England, he didn't expect to disappear. But that's exactly what happened, with a mystery that involves garden mazes and a strange sculpture. An imaginative mystery adventure story that weaves together art, philosophy and great storytelling.

The sequel to "The Mysterious Benedict Society" follows adventures of four children, each with a special talent -- from a photographic memory to logic skills -- as they pursue an international scavenger hunt to find their kidnapped benefactor. Needless to say, they face all sorts of harrowing challenges, escaping just in time at every turn.

For Young Adults

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
By E. Lockhart (Hyperion Books*)

Follow Frankie Landau-Banks from geeky 14-year-old girl to knockout 16-year-old who won't take "no" for an answer and could possibly turn into a criminal mastermind.

Audrey, Wait
By Robin Benway (Penguin Group)

Audrey Cuttler dumps her boyfriend, Evan, and suddenly becomes famous when he writes a song about their breakup that tops the charts. The book follows Audrey through one heck of a journey as she's mobbed by fans and paparazzi, confronts Evan on MTV and shows the world her true self.

*Hyperion Books is a part of the Walt Disney Company, parent company of ABC News.